Marine organisms: "Light sensor" detects correct moon phase
[09. September 2022]
Many marine organisms such as brown algae, fish or bristle worms have an internal monthly calendar: They adapt their behavior and reproduction to the different light conditions to which they are exposed. A team led by the two researchers Kristin Tessmar-Raible (Alfred Wegener Institute and Max Perutz Labs Vienna) and Eva Wolf (Johannes Gutenberg University and Institute of Molecular Biology, Mainz) has now discovered how marine organisms can distinguish between different light conditions and adjust their internal calendar accordingly.
Light conditions in natural habitats vary considerably. Regardless of the weather, even the regular interplay of sun and moon generates highly complex patterns. To distinguish not only between sunlight and moonlight, but also between different moon phases, organisms use a molecule as a kind of light sensor. This enables the animals to select the "right" light for their internal monthly calendar and to adjust their behavior and also their reproduction accordingly. The researchers published their findings in the scientific journal Nature.
More information: Max Perutz Labs: Circalunar clocks: using the right light
Publication:
Birgit Poehn, Shruthi Krishnan, Martin Zurl, Aida Coric, Dunja Rokvic, N. Sören Häfker, Elmar Jaenicke, Enrique Arboleda, Lukas Orel, Florian Raible, Eva Wolf & Kristin Tessmar-Raible. A Cryptochrome adopts distinct moon- and sunlight states and functions as sun- versus moonlight interpreter in monthly oscillator entrainment. Nature Communica-tions 2022; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32562-z
Contact
Wissenschaftliches Personal
Kristin Tessmar-Raible
kristin.tessmar-raible@awi.de
+43-1-4277-74635
Eva Wolf
evawolf1@uni-mainz.de
Pressestelle
Sarah Werner
sarah.werner@awi.de
+49(471)4831-2008